'Soft' sell aids job search

Everyone is looking for ways to make the most of every job interview opportunity.

Of course, a good resume will reflect your technical training and experience. However, there is more to your overall qualifications than that. Your soft skills are an important part of the whole package.

Two professionals at Brown Mackie College offer advice to help you make a more comprehensive case as an optimal candidate for the position you seek - a case that includes your soft skills.

Barbara J. Schafer and Carilyn Pen-rod work daily helping students and graduates to be ready to enter today's workforce or preparing them to enhance their current professions.

"The workplace remains highly competitive in terms of finding a job," says Schafer.

No matter what field interests you, it is beneficial to include your soft skills in your pitch. "Before you can market your soft skills, you must know what they are. Soft skills are personality traits; the things that make you who you are," says Schafer. "You seldom learn soft skills in trade school or college. They are life skills that you develop through your experiences."

"The main items I look for in interviewee, apart from hard skills, are self confidence, eye contact and a firm handshake," says Penrod. These soft skills, combined with integrity, appropriate dress and good grammar, can be collectively defined as professionalism. "Listening skills matter, too. Is the candidate paying attention to what I'm saying? Is the candidate providing thoughtful responses?" All of these attributes combine to create an element of trust between employer and applicant.

Listing your soft skills on a resume is a good way to introduce them to a prospective employer. However, you will need to prove you actually have them by providing examples of how each manifests in your work. "If you say you have good communication skills, you must be able to explain this well in an interview," Schafer says.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Share

'Soft' sell aids job search

Video

Business Videos

Best of Postmedia

“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, ‘Come and see.’ And I saw, and behold a white elephant, and he that sat upon him had a crown, which he wore atop his fiery hair, and […]

Millennials, amirite? They’re nothing but Instagram-happy, emoji-LOL-ing, mannequin-challenging navelgazers. Or so the theory goes. How can they put their pants on one leg at a time, like everyone else, when they’re sausaged into skinny jeans? Yet when it comes to […]

An Ottawa judge has thrown out a romance fraud case that has taken more than four years to go to trial, ruling that the excessive delay has robbed the accused man of his right to a fair trial. Ontario Superior Court Justice Kevin Phillips on Friday stayed the case against Kevin Bishop of Ottawa, who had […]

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.